Professional Ethics and Code of Conduct
Professional Ethics and Code of Conduct
This domain tests ethical reasoning and professional behaviour: respect, confidentiality, informed choice, equity, integrity and accountability. Questions often use dilemmas where the clinically 'correct' action must be balanced against the woman's rights.
Core rules and concepts
- Respect for persons means dignity, autonomy and informed choice; coercion and discrimination are never acceptable.
- Confidentiality requires sharing information only on a need-to-know basis, with consent or a lawful exception; records and social media must not identify women.
- Informed consent requires capacity, voluntariness and adequate information; refusal by a woman with capacity must be respected and documented.
- Professional integrity includes honesty, declaring conflicts of interest, maintaining boundaries and reporting unsafe or unethical practice.
- Equity means fair treatment regardless of background, and actively addressing power imbalances.
- Accountability means following the code, law and employer policy, and using a structured ethical framework when values conflict.
Worked example
A woman with capacity declines a recommended caesarean birth for placenta praevia. The midwife should confirm she understands the recommendation and risks, explore her concerns, offer a second opinion, explain the risks including severe haemorrhage, document informed refusal, plan a safety net with access to blood and emergency transfer, and continue respectful care. The midwife must not proceed without consent. The trap is treating refusal as incompetence or withdrawing support.
Traps that cost marks
Paternalism disguised as beneficence; breaching privacy in corridors or online; accepting gifts that create obligation; failing to declare a conflict; witnessing misconduct and staying silent; assuming a woman's decision is informed because a form was signed.